A Merry Christmas
by SunshineGirl99
Summary: A robbery and a kidnapping. All in the month of December. With the case still not solved on Christmas Eve, will the Hardy Boys still have a Merry Christmas?
1. Chapter 1

**So I have to work on my story Thanksgiving, but this short story that was forming in my head was just asking to be written. :) Merry Christmas!**

* * *

Snow softly fell in New York City. A cold, brisk wind blew across the streets. It was Christmas Eve. Green, red, and white lights shone brilliantly on buildings. The streets were filled with people doing last minute Christmas shopping, and other various things. Most people were caught up in the Christmas spirit.

One particular dark haired man wasn't looking at the Christmas lights, or hoping to find a special gift for his significant other. Most people didn't pay him any mind, but if you looked closely you could see he was not happy at all. Worry lines creased his face, making him look older than he actually was.

Frank Hardy felt tired. Very tired. He had spent days with little to no sleep. He still however, found the strength to keep his head high as he walked down downtown New York City streets.

He glanced at his watch. 9:00. He walked faster. He was supposed to be meeting his brother at their hotel room by now. As he neared their hotel, he heard the sound of Christmas music coming from a nearby building. Normally, he would be humming along with the notes. For now though, he had more important things on his mind.

He entered their hotel, and took the elevator to the 8th floor. Upon arriving in their room he found no one. A note, hastily written, was the only sign of anyone having been there since he left that morning. He picked it up and read it silently. A bit of hope glimmering in his eyes.

 _Frank~_

 _I found a big break_ _on the case. People that resemble our suspects, have been spotted by the old bank on 34th street. I'm going to check it out. Please don't follow me. If I don't_ _return by morning, call the police. Don't go on your own. ~Joe_

Frank sighed. He wanted to follow Joe, but knew from past experience to obey his wishes. He sank onto the bed. Rubbing his eyes wearily, he rested his head against the pillow.

Her pretty face appeared in his thoughts. Framed by strawberry blond hair, her blue eyes shining brightly. Nancy. With that, came painful memories. He felt as though he failed her.

She had been working on a case, involving priceless stolen paintings. When the case led to New York, she had asked for his and Joe's help. They had happily obliged. However, a week ago they had found a clue pointing to a man named Julias Clark. On a hunch, they decided to check out his old business: Diamond Express. Upon reaching their destination, they had been attacked….

 _"Come on." Joe Hardy whispered. "It's all clear."_

 _Frank rolled his eyes as he walked past him, his tennis shoes squeaking against the linoleum floor of the building._

 _"Joe, there's no one here."_

 _"How do you know?" Joe retorted, with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes._

 _"Because we've checked every inch of this place."_

 _"Says the one who's always so careful." Joe said. "Right Nan?"_

 _Nancy just smiled. She had a look of unease in her eyes that Frank noticed right away._

 _"What's wrong?" he questioned._

 _She shrugged. "I don't know. I just have this odd feeling. It's probably nothing. Anyway, we're on the first floor. In a few minutes we'll be outside and getting ready to head back. I don't think anything's going to happen before then." She smiled reassuringly._

 _They kept walking, Frank and Joe ahead of Nancy._

 _Wonder where the thieves are then?" Joe asked, breaking the silence that had befallen the group._

 _"Probably in some other abandoned building." Frank replied as they rounded a corner._

 _"Maybe." Joe mused. "What do you think we should do now Nancy? That was our only clue. Should we go back to the art museum and search for more clues?"_

 _Silence reigned._

 _"Nancy?" Joe asked glancing behind him. He stopped._

 _"What?" Frank asked, turning around._

 _"She's gone."_

 _Frank made a quick survey of the hallway. Nothing._

 _"Let's go retrace our footsteps. Maybe she found a clue, and stopped to check it out." Frank had the feeling he said that more so to reassure himself, then Joe._

 _As they rounded the corner they had previously passed, they heard the faint sound of footsteps running. Without hesitation, both boys started running. They heard a door slam. They ran faster. They reached an exit, that lead out to the back of the building. They burst through the door, to find a silver object leveled on them. A gun._

 _"If you try anything. I promise you I will shoot the girl."_

 _Frank and Joe stopped instantly._

 _"Good job, you know how to follow instructions." The person with the gun said in a sarcastic voice."_

 _Frank quickly surveyed the situation. As far as he could see, there were three men. One was pointing a gun, the second holding Nancy, and the third, in the driver's seat of a black van. All three sported ski masks on their faces. The one holding Nancy and the one driving were tall and lanky. The one holding the gun was short and thin._

 _Frank looked at Nancy, who looked to be half unconscious. Fear coursed through him. Their eyes met, and she gave him a weak smile._

 _"Get her in the van," The short man growled. "I'll take care of these two."_

 _"Remember," the one holding nancy said nervously. "The boss doesn't want any murders on his hands."_

 _The short one ignored him. "Just get her in the car."_

 _Frank moved forward, as if to run towards the man holding Nancy. He stopped however, when she shook her head. The person with the gun opened his mouth to say something, when the sound of a car engine was heard._

 _All people present jerked their heads toward the sound._

 _"Come on!" The short one said, slightly panicked._

 _Nancy met Frank's eyes one last time. She was then shoved into the car and the two other men leaped in. As the car drove away, Frank and Joe tried to run ahead to their car. It was in vain, as the van was too fast, and was gaining speed by the minute. Frank stared ahead, as the van disappeared out of sight. The look in Nancy's eyes was of trust. Trust that he would find her. Trust in him._

 _He gulped, when he realized he didn't know if he could. WIth no more clues, and being unable to follow the van, the task seemed impossible._

* * *

 **Well that's it for now. Please review. I love hearing your thoughts. It would really make my day. I plan to have a new chapter up tomorrow.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N First of all, I would like to thank Smithy and the two Guests for reviewing. It really brightened my day. Thank you guys so much.**

 **Also, just so you guys know, there have been a couple of changes made in the last chapter. Most are minor, but one is about the note left by Joe, and the names of one of my characters and his business. Just so you don't get confused.**

 **On the topic of updating, I hope to have a new chapter up each day from now on. Hopefully. We'll see how that goes. :) Anyway, here you go! A new chapter! Hope you all had a great Christmas!**

 **I do not own the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew.**

* * *

Frank sighed. That day had been chaotic. They had first reported the kidnapping to the police, and then searched for more clues. It had been a week now. The clue Joe had apparently found was the only one they had found so far. He sighed as he closed his eyes. He hoped that this would be the break he and Joe needed.

* * *

Joe Hardy watched as green and red lights whizzed past. He was currently riding in a taxi toward 34th street. An anonymous tip had been given to the police. Joe had just happened to be there, and since his father was a retired policeman of the New York Police Department, he had managed to learn what the tip was. He had immediately gone back to his and Frank's hotel and written a note telling his brother what happened.

He hoped this would turn out to be the one clue they had been looking for to find Nancy. Not only because he was worried for her but also because he was worried for Frank.

You could tell by just looking at his brother, he blamed himself. _It would kill him if something happened to her._ He thought silently. He shook himself. _That's why I'm going to check out this clue._ He reminded himself. _To make sure that doesn't happen._

"Well, here's 34th street." The taxi driver, said. "Any particular place you want to go?"

Joe pulled out the piece of paper he had written the address on. "A place called Premium Bank."

The driver looked at him curiously, but said nothing. The taxi pulled up to an old dilapidated building.

"Here we are."

"Thanks." Joe paid the driver and left.

He skirted around the building, looking for the best way to get in. Choosing to go through the back, he pulled a penlight out of his pocket. Cautiously he opened the door. He winced as it creaked. _Hope no one heard that._ He thought anxiously.

He found himself in a dark corridor. He turned on the penlight, and glanced around. The walls were painted a dark spruce green. He continued walking and found himself at the front desk. Dust covered the furnishings.

Passing this part of the building, he came to a door. It was locked. He quickly pulled out his lockpicking kit. He messed around with the lock until he heard a satisfying click.

Opening the door, he found himself, in an office. The walls were painted dark gray. The first thing that alerted him, was that the everything looked clean. Too clean. There was no dust, not even a speck.

Glancing around, his eyes fell upon a gold frame, sticking out from behind, a cabin. Pulling it out, his eyes widened. It was one of the paintings! He carefully put it on the desk. He looked around some found two other paintings. From the crime scene, there had been five paintings stolen. He just needed two more.

He was so engulfed in his search, that he failed to notice the sound of footsteps. A cough sounded behind him. He froze. He started to turn around. That was the last thing he remembered before everything went black.

* * *

Nancy Drew stretched tiredly. Yawning, she got up off from the cold floor. She winced as her ribs protested loudly. It had been a long week. Stale crackers and some water had been her food for the past few days. A flashlight was her only source of light.

She had been taken out of her "prison" every day, so that her captors could leave the building. She was to act as a hostage in the case that her captors were caught.

She sighed. It was pretty stupid how they had caught her. They had hit her on the back of the head with a gun. _How could I have been so stupid?_ She berated herself. _I even thought I heard footsteps behind me. I should have been more careful. I wouldn't be in this mess if I had told Frank my fears._

On top of that, she had been blindfolded on the drive over here. She didn't even know where _here_ was. If she did escape, she wouldn't know where to go. They blindfolded her on the way out and on the way in, every time.

She had obviously still tried to escape but had only succeeding in getting bruises. She was really starting to get sick of this place. From what she could tell, she was in a back room. It was rather chilly, and the room had a hard concrete floor. The walls were white with metal bookcases lining them. What looked to be a desk was shoved against the wall.

She wondered how Frank was doing. She hoped he and Joe would find her soon. She sat on the floor. Closing her eyes, she rested her head against the wall. She was almost asleep when the door banged open. A person was carelessly tossed inside hitting the floor with a loud thud. She winced. Her normal meal of crackers and water was tossed in as well.

"Found you a friend." A voice said. A harsh laugh sounded as the door slammed shut.

Grabbing the flashlight, Nancy crawled over to the fallen figure. She shined the light on the person's face. She drew in a breath sharply. The face was very familiar to her.

"Joe?" She whispered softly.

* * *

 **A/N Well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I plan to have this story done in the next few days. I can definitely say it will be done before New Year's.**

 **Please tell me what you think of this chapter. It's really short, and I can't say I'm proud of it, but I would still like to hear your comments.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N I would first like thank Smithy and avengersashely for reviewing. It made me very happy to read your review.**

 **On a different note, I am pretty sure this story will be finished within the next chapter. It has been a joy to write.**

 **Well, here's the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it!**

* * *

Joe groaned at the sound of Nancy's voice. "Nancy?"

Nancy breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad your awake."

"Ouch." He mumbled, rubbing his head. "Could you please get that light out of my eyes?" He winced, squinting at the flashlight's bright light.

"Sorry."

Nancy quickly set the flashlight aside, silently checking him for serious injuries with her eyes. She winced at the large gash on his temple. He noticed her gaze and chuckled.

"I'm fine Nan."

She shook her head gesturing at the blood on his face. "No, your not."

Reaching over for some water, she discovered there were two bottles of water. One for Joe, she assumed. Taking one of them, she knelt beside Joe, who was still on the ground. Silently taking a Kleenex from her pocket she poured some water over it, and handed it to him. His eyes were dilated which worried her. _Concussion_ she thought.

He took it and washed the blood away, wincing as he did so. Meanwhile, Nancy reached for her own bottle of water. She looked back to see his eyes closed. She hurriedly shook him. He opened his eyes gazing at her quizzically.

"Don't fall asleep." she warned.

Realization dawned in his eyes and he sat up. He nodded appreciatively. "Thanks."

"So," she said, sitting down across from him. "How did you find me?"

"An anonymous tip. A person called the police station saying they saw someone resembling Julias hanging around this place. I took a taxi here to check it out and was kidnapped like you."

Nancy smirked. "So much for checking things out."

"Actually…" Joe gave a mischievous smile.

"What did you find?" Nancy asked. Her attention piqued.

"The paintings."

Nancy narrowed her eyes. "You better not be joking Hardy."

"I promise you. I'm not."

"That's too easy." Nancy argued. "Something is wrong."

"I don't think so." Joe said. The room was cleaned well. Most likely so the paintings wouldn't be damaged. If those weren't the paintings, they probably wouldn't have been so careful."

"You're right." Nancy relented. Her stomach rumbled loudly. She blushed. "Sorry, I guess I'm a little hungry." Getting up from the floor, she winced at the pain in her ribs. Joe eyed her, concerned.

"Instead of you asking me if I was okay, I should have been asking if you were okay."

"Just a few bruises." She said, waving him off. She retrieved the crackers, and sat down. He was still eyeing her. "I am perfectly fine."

He rolled his eyes. "Sure."

"Want some crackers?" She asked hoping to change the subject.

He nodded, wincing as the motion hurt his head. He gave her a look that promised her that they would continue the conversation later. She handed him a handful of crackers, and then took some for herself.

Joe bit into one, and was startled when it gave a loud crack. He chewed slowly, a funny look crossing his face. He swallowed.

"These taste terrible!"

Nancy feigned a hurt look. "You don't like my cooking?"

"If that's your cooking, than I don't think you'll be opening any restaurants anytime soon." He joked, playing along.

"Joseph Hardy!" Nancy said, an amused smile gracing her face. "What would your aunt say if she heard that comment?"

"She'd probably give me a lecture about manners." He replied. "But seriously these are stale."

Nancy shrugged. "We're not exactly in a five star restaurant at the moment."

"I wish I was." Joe grumbled.

She laughed, the sound filling the stark room making it feel happier.

* * *

Frank opened his eyes to the sun shining through the shades on the window. Rolling over he groaned. It had probably been around one o'clock when he had fallen into an uneasy sleep. He jumped up remembering the note. _Joe!_ He thought. Glancing around, his heart sunk when he realized Joe wasn't there. Quickly getting ready for the new day, he grabbed his wallet and phone, and raced to the elevator.

Once he reached the first floor he stopped. _Cool it Hardy._ He thought. _Stay calm. First figure out a plan. Then act on it._ He blinked. First, he'd go to the police station that they had gone to when Nancy had been kidnapped. Then he'd lead the police to the bank on 34th street. That was an easy enough plan to follow.

Taking a deep breath, he left the hotel and hailed a taxi.

"Where to?" The driver asked, as he got in.

"The downtown New York Police Station please."

"Sure."

The taxi pulled out into the morning traffic. The driver was a younger man, in his early 30's frank guessed. The man's hair was ginger in color.

Frank stared out the window. The town was alight with Christmas decorations. With a start, he realized it was Christmas Day. The thought saddened him. He, Joe, and Nancy, should be with their respective families right now. He sighed. It wouldn't be the first time he and Joe were gone for Christmas, he didn't think the idea was new to Nancy's family either.

The taxi glided to stop in front of a building. "Here you are." The driver announced.

"Thanks." he said, paying the driver. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." The other man replied.

Frank sighed as he looked at the building in front of him. It was now or never.

* * *

 **A/N Well, that's it for now. I'm thinking this next chapter will be the last one. Hope you liked this chapter. Please leave a review! I would really appreciate it! ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I would like to thank Cheralyn Rivers for her review. Thank you so much! I'm sorry this is late. But there were a lot of things going on. Hope everyone had a great New Year!**

 **Well here it is! The last chapter.**

* * *

Frank pushed through the doors of the police station, and walked up to the front desk. A woman who appeared in her mid 40's glanced up at him.

"What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to report a suspected kidnapping." Frank started.

Her face showed no expression. "I would like you to come with me please."

Frank obeyed, and followed her down a long hallway. It was painted a dark blue color. They stopped in front of a door that said, Detective Oliver Chambers. The woman opened the door and stepped inside motioning for Frank to follow.

Stepping inside he found an older man with salt and pepper hair. He had darker colored eyes, Frank noted, much like his own. The woman whispered something to the man, and then left.

"Please sit down." Detective Chambers said. "I hear you've come to report a suspected kidnapping." he continued once Frank was seated.

"Yes," Frank replied. "this kidnapping goes along with the kidnapping of a girl exactly one week ago."

The detective leaned forward, his hands moving toward a computer on his desk. "What would her name be?"

"Nancy Drew." Frank said, shifting in his seat. _Hurry up!_ He thought as the man typed. _Lives could be at stake!_

The man raised his eyebrows at his findings. "Nancy Drew? That famous girl detective?"

"Yes." Frank stated, glaring at the back of the computer.

"You're Frank Hardy then?" The man questioned. "The man who reported it?"

"Yes!"

"May I see your identification please?" Frank handed it to him, secretly wanting to throw it. The man looked it over, and then back at Frank.

Handing it back, he whistled. "So you're one of the Hardy brothers." He stuck out his hand. Frank shook it. "Never thought I would get a chance to meet one of you."

"Sorry to cut the pleasantries sir, but could we please get back to the point of this visit?"

The man seemed to understand. "Sure. Who is the suspected victim?"

"My brother, Joe Hardy."

The man entered that into the computer. "Tell me everything that happened." Frank gave him a quick and to the point version. The man nodded. "I see."

"Do you think you could send a couple of officers with me to go check it out?"

The man shook his head. "I'm not in charge of the officers. You'd have to talk to the chief for that."

"Well where is he?" Frank asked impatiently.

"Son, your not an official detective. Even if you could talk to him, he probably wouldn't grant your request."

Frank gave a tired smile. "Could you at least give me a chance?"

The detective gave a loud sigh. "I don't see how it's going to help," He said getting up. "but I'll try."

He re entered the room a few minutes later. "The chief surprisingly has some time to talk to you. If you'll come with me I can lead you to his office."

Frank gave a relieved sigh. "Thanks."

"Your welcome." The man said, as he stopped in front of a door. "I hope you find your brother."

After the man left, Frank took a deep breath, and opened the door. A strict looking man, that vaguely reminded him of Chief Coling, looked up from his desk.

"You must be Frank Hardy." he said.

Frank nodded.

The man put out his hand. "Nice to meet you Frank. My name is Shane Reynolds. I'm the chief of this station."

Frank quickly shook the man's hand and sat down. "Sir, I need a favor." he said, getting straight to the point.

"I know. Detective Chambers told me about that."

"Have you considered it?" Frank asked hopefully.

"Yes, and my answer is no."

"But sir…"

The chief held up a hand. "I didn't say I wouldn't send _someone else_ , to lead my officers." At Frank's confused look, the man continued. "Chambers also told me that your the brother of Joe Hardy, the young man who convinced us to tell him about the tip that concerns the case of Miss Drew's kidnapping. I assume you know about that tip?" Frank nodded. "Since it concerned one of the cases we had been working on, we had the permission to check out the building. We didn't, because your brother talked us into waiting and letting him go first." He paused to chuckle. "Your brother can be very _persuasive_ when he wants to be.

 _Yes he can._ Frank thought, smiling. "Does that mean that you'll go check out the bank?"

"Yes. I'll be sending my deputy with another two of my officers. And before you ask..." he continued as Frank opened his mouth, "you will be allowed to come. As long as you don't get in the way." he finished sternly.

Frank nodded, satisfied. The chief got up and moved toward the door. "Follow me."

Frank had one last question though. "Chief Reynolds, how did Joe get you to tell him the tip?"

The chief looked rather embarrassed. "Let's just say I knew you your father when he was in the N.Y.P.D."

Frank laughed. That's pretty much what he would expect of his brother.

* * *

A half hour later, a police car pulled up to the front of Premium Bank. The deputy had decided that they wouldn't use the sirens, so as not to alert the smugglers to their being there. The deputy whose name was Simon Kelly, the two other officers who went by the names Liam Harden and Vincent DePaul, as well as Frank, stepped quickly and silently out of the car.

Deciding that the back door was the safest route, they slipped inside. Unknowingly walking down the same route that Joe walked earlier, they came to the room that held the paintings in it.

As Officer DePaul moved his hand to open it, Frank stopped him. "Wait!"

The officer looked at him, annoyed. Everyone present knew about Frank's crime-solving success, but this particular officer didn't like taking orders from someone who wasn't officially certified. "What is it?"

"Look at the lock. It has scratches around it. A clear sign that it's been tampered with. I'm willing to bet that my brother did that."

The deputy looked to his two officers. "You look inside that room" he ordered. He then turned to Frank. "You come with me." As the two officers cautiously opened the door, Frank and the deputy continued down the hall. At the very end, they found two doors, on either side of the hallway.

Both Frank and the deputy heard voices coming from the door on the left side. On the right, there were also voices, but these were more muted. Deputy Kelly and Frank traded looks. They had to choose carefully. One door led to disaster, and the other hopefully led to a safe rescue.

Frank moved toward the left one. Listening for a moment, he caught the one voice he would recognize anywhere. Joe's. He pointed to the door and gave a silent nod to the deputy. The deputy motioned for Frank to get behind him, and drew his gun. They stepped behind the door, and cautiously opened it. When nothing happened, the deputy slid out in front, his gun pointed directly inside.

Silence fell. Frank carefully stepped out from behind the other man. Easily recognizing the two people inside, he told the deputy he could put the gun away.

He moved forward and knelt down beside Nancy. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, but didn't look at him right away. Don't waste time with me, it's your brother you should be worried about. He suffered a pretty hard knock on his head. I'm positive he has a concussion."

"Says the person who winces every time she moves." Joe countered. His eyes were open, but it looked to Frank as if the light hurt his eyes. He got up using the wall to steady himself, and made his way toward the door.

Frank turned back to Nancy. She gave him a small smile, and gingerly stood up.

"Alright," the deputy whispered, keeping his eyes on the door across the hall. "We need to move fast and quickly. Follow me."

They quietly moved out into the hall. Retracing their steps, they were about halfway back to the first door, when they heard footsteps following them.

"Hey!" A voice bellowed ."Get back here!"

All four people responded by starting to run. The deputy quickly drew his gun. Luckily, the other police officers had heard the shout and met them in the hallway.

"Go!" Frank shouted.

The group hurried quickly to the exit. A loud thud had Frank twisting around to find Nancy on the floor. He started to run back, when someone grabbed his arm. It was Deputy Kelly.

"What are you doing?" Frank yelled. He didn't get an answer as he was pushed out the door.

Once outside he was pulled behind the police car. "What was that about?" he hissed.

"We didn't need you in danger as well!" The deputy responded.

"Oh, so I can't be in danger, but she can?" Frank said angrily.

"Better one person that two!"

Frank closed his eyes. _They only did what they were trained to do._ He reminded himself.

"What are we going to do?" he inquired.

"Call for backup, and then wait." Was the reply.

* * *

Nancy bit back a cry of pain as she was hauled to her feet. "Tried to escape did you?" Julias Clark whispered in her ear. "I thought you had learned you lesson last time." She eyed him with disgust. "We'll deal with that later." He growled. "For now, there are more important matters that demand our attention."

A gun was pressed to her head. "What's your plan boss?" One of the guys next to her asked.

Julias didn't answer, and instead walked outside. Nancy could see he was talking, but couldn't hear what he was saying. After a moment he motioned for his men to bring Nancy outside. They did. As she was shoved outside, she saw Frank as well as another man she didn't recognize, standing up, behind a police car.

"Now," Julias was saying with a smile on his face, "as you can see, we have the girl. A simple trade is all that you need to get her back. You leave, and she will be set free."

"That's not how this is going to work." The man next to Frank replied.

The smile on Julias's face turned into a frown. "I see." He turned towards Nancy. "I'm sorry then. If you don't leave in the next five minutes, I regret to say the girl will have to die."

Nancy kept her face expressionless. _There's no way out of this one._ She thought gravely. _They'll have to leave. Unless… That's it!_ Nancy hesitated. She hadn't used this trick in a long time. A lot of things could go wrong. She would just have to hope it would work.

She looked over at Frank. He met her eyes. She gave him a half smile. He looked at her, confused. Giving him a wink, she went limp.

Frank was initially startled as Nancy fell back against the guy holding her. Then he gave a small smile. Though, she looked like she had fainted, he knew better. As Julias and his fellow thieves were distracted by this new problem, the deputy and his officers raced forward.

Nancy on the other hand immediately sprang into action. She knocked the gun that was originally pointed at her, to the ground. Springing away, she stood next to Frank, and watched the as the police took over the scene.

* * *

It was around nighttime as a Nancy and Frank walked down the New York streets. Both were reflecting on the last few hours. Julias had been caught, and the paintings had been returned.

A trip to the hospital afterwards had resulted in an overnight stay for Joe. They had originally wanted to keep Nancy as well, but with a bit of persuading on her part they let her go with strict orders to be careful.

Nancy turned her attention to the Christmas lights decorating a building. The red and green lights shone brightly. She could see a Christmas tree through the window. Huge ornaments hung from its branches.

"Pretty isn't it?" Frank said, noticing her gaze.

"Yeah." Nancy replied. She suddenly turned toward him. "It was a nice Christmas present."

"What?" Frank asked, confused.

"You found me on Christmas Day." Nancy reiterated.

"Oh." Frank responded, suddenly feeling awkward. "You already thanked me." He reminded her.

"I know, but it still was a nice present."

They continued walking, a silence befalling them. Frank glanced around, enjoying the decorations. His eyes fell upon some mistletoe that was located on a lamppost above them. He looked away, hoping Nancy wouldn't notice it.

She however had seen him glance up, and directed her gaze there as well. Seeing the mistletoe, her eyes widened slightly.

He had been watching her, and suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "We don't have to..you know…"

Nancy nodded. "No we don't."

Frank couldn't help the disappointment that swept through him. He could have kicked himself for that.

She cleared her throat. "It _is_ tradition though."

Frank looked up quickly. Hope flaring inside him. She moved closer to him. "Merry Christmas, Hardy." she said quietly.

"Merry Christmas, Drew" he whispered. With that, he leaned down, and their lips met in a kiss.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for the reviews you've given me. I enjoyed writing this story, and I really hope you liked it.**


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